leaving his master alone with
a bent, crooked old woman who walked with the aid of a cane, and seemed
very ill.

"I should never have known you," said Caranby, admiring Maraquito's
talent for disguise.

"Necessity has made me clever," she replied in a croaking voice, and
glanced at the door.

Caranby interpreted the look and voice. "You can speak freely," he
said ironically, "I have no police concealed hereabouts."

"And Miss Saxon?" asked Maraquito, speaking in her natural voice.

"She will be here at half-past three. I wish to have a talk with you
first, Miss Saul."

The woman darted a terrible look at her host. In spite of the mask of
age which she had assumed, her eyes filled with youthful vigor and fire
betrayed her. They shone brilliantly from her wrinkled face. Her hair
was concealed under a close cap, above which she wore a broad-brimmed
hat. This head-dress would have been remarkable a few years back, but
now that ladies are reverting to the fashions of their grandmothers, it
passed unnoticed. With a plain black dress, a black cloak trimmed
profusely with beads, mittened hands and an ebony cane, she looked
quite funereal. To complete the oddity of her dress a black satin bag
dangled by ribbons from her left arm. In this she carried her
handkerchief and--something else. As usual, she was perfumed with the
Hikui scent. Caranby noticed this, and when she did not reply to his
remark, pointed out its danger to her.

"If you wish to escape the police, you must stop using so unusual a
perfume, Miss Saul--"

"Call me Maraquito; I am used to that name," she said harshly, and
seated herself near the fire, shivering to keep up a character of old
age, with slowly circulating blood.

"Let us say Maraquita," answered Caranby, smiling, "we may as well be
grammatical. But this perfume betrays you. Jennings knows that your
friends use it as a sign."

"Quite so," she answered, "it was clever of Jennings to have guessed
its meaning. I invented the idea. But he is ill, and I don't think he
has told anyone else about it. He is fond of keeping his discoveries
to himself. He wants all the glory."

"Surely he has had enough by this time, Maraquita. But the scent--"

"You are quite right, I shall not use it for the future. But what do
you think of my disguise? Would anyone know me?"

"Certainly not. But I wonder you have the courage to show yourself so
disfigured to the woman who is your rival."